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Scouts Rally SA once again returned to the Mount Crawford Forest and the northern hills over the weekend of August 1-3 for three heats of intense gravel rally action on some of South Australia’s most challenging roads.

Taking the outright event win and victory in round four of the Australian Rally Championship was Scott Pedder and Dale Moscatt in the Walkinshaw Performance prepared Renault Sport Clio R3. The pairing narrowly claimed victory in all three heats which was enough to snatch the lead of the ARC.

Claiming second place was Brendon Reeves and Rhiannon Gelsomino in the quick little G2 Mazda 2. It was a close battle for much of the event however the Mazda 2 was struck with problems, including non functioning windscreen wipers in heavy rain and the loss of a rear wheel on SS20 when the studs broke, forcing Reeves to tripod back to service. Reeves was able to match the pace of Pedder when everything was working correctly, but these niggling problems kept him down at this crucial point in the championship. With two rounds remaining, Pedder managed to snatch the championship lead. Continue reading →

There seems to be something of a renaissance in the grassroots sport of hillclimbing of late, with existing events like Mount Alma and Legend of the Lakes enjoying great popularity and several new events coming on board. The latest of these is the Windy Point Hillclimb, to be held on Saturday April 12 as part of the upcoming Adelaide Motorsport Festival.

Any Given Reason recently had a small preview of the event, attending an Advertiser photoshoot with two cars set to race up the hill – two cars that couldn’t be more different yet will likely achieve a similar goal. The Willall Pilatus R35 GTR is a seriously impressive looking animal in the flesh, its bare carbon bodywork and aero aids fighting for attention. It has the power to back it up too, running the famous AMS Alpha 12 engine package with a bespoke Willall Racing gearbox and a long list of supporting modifications. With Sebastian Lip behind the wheel it will be one to watch up the hill, fighting for an outright victory no doubt.

Rene Felkl’s Volkswagen Beetle doesn’t fight for your attention so much, rather it lulls you into a false sense of trust with its sheer cuteness. It isn’t until you start looking a little closer that you notice the details and begin to wonder just how serious this car is; and in his friendly, smiling ways Rene ducks around your questions without actually giving away his secrets. Then he casually drops into conversation that he managed sixth outright at Legend of the Lakes, and you become slightly confused as to what exactly is going on here. This little Beetle will certainly be one to watch.

The first Windy Point Hillclimb looks set to be hugely popular. Entries are already full, and if you’re planning on spectating make sure you get there early to secure a good spot. Any Given Reason will be competing down the back of the field in the little Alfa Romeo, so see you there!

Well over 600 enthusiast cars gathered recently on a hot Saturday night in early February for the Ben Simpson Memorial Cruise; an interclub, everything welcome, drive through Adelaide and the hills to raise awareness and funds for a variety of mental health issues.

Initially organised by the late Ben’s parents as a small memorial event for their son who tragically took his own life, the BSMC has quickly become one of the biggest events on the Adelaide calendar. Whilst it’s the cars we come for, the cruise has a sub-plot and serves to not only raise funds but to spread knowledge of mental health issues within the automotive community; a group of people that would sooner give away their cars than discuss their mental health.

But it is the cars that we come for, and most certainly the cars are what takes centre stage. The cruise met at the Tea Tree Plaza carpark, and managed to completely fill a fair proportion of it. Think how busy the carpark is at the height of the pre Christmas rush, and that’s a fair indication of how full the BSMC was.

However rather than traffic jams of family trucksters and people negotiating tiny gaps with overflowing trolleys, there were lines of immaculately modified cars and people with cameras far outnumbered people with shopping bags. Continue reading →

The Jaf’s Cruise, traditionally held on the Saturday night between Christmas and New Year, is easily one of the biggest cruise nights in Adelaide. With over 1000 cars, this annual event has become both famous and infamous for a variety of equally excellent reasons.

This year the cruise clashed with Any Given Reason’s own Burger Meet 3, however at the conclusion of Burger Meet a few of us went down to the Marion shopping center to check out the finish point. We arrived at around 1030pm and there were still cars streaming into an already overflowing car park – it was quite a sight. Picture the Marion car park at the height of the pre-Christmas rush but with a lot more people milling about, and that’s an idea of how packed it was.

Most of the cars at Jaf’s aren’t typically what we’re into here at Any Given Reason, and to be honest the thought of sitting stationary in a big police patrolled 70km traffic jam around the suburbs from one shopping centre to another isn’t exactly my idea of a good night out with my car. I suspect a lot of AGR readers share that view.

That said, there’s still some really cool stuff that surfaces at Jaf’s and it’s still definitely worth checking out. I think going to Jaf’s is a bit like shopping at an op-shop. Most of the stuff isn’t worth your time, but every so often you uncover a gem.

So this is a small collection of a few of the more interesting cars we discovered at Jaf’s. Enjoy!

Eli Evans and Glen Weston have made Australian rally history by winning the 2013 Scouts Rally SA, leading the event from start to finish in their Honda Jazz G2. This win makes 9 consecutive wins from 9 consecutive starts, equaling the record set by the great Possum Bourne during his period of dominance in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

In a strong showing for the new factory supported Renault Sport team, Scott Pedder and Dale Moscatt claimed second place driving their freshly built Renault Sport Clio R3.

The experienced crew of Brendan Reeves and Rhiannon Smyth finished third in another strong showing behind the wheel of the Rally School G2 Mazda 2.

Jack Monkhouse and John Allen were fighting hard for their place on the podium until a broken water pump ended their efforts on Saturday afternoon. They fixed the car and rejoined, but were unable to place highly. They certainly entertained the spectators with long slides and big jumps wherever they went.

Neal Bates and Coral Taylor once again won the ARC Classics class in their brilliant RA40 Toyota Celica. Bates is a seriously good steerer and this RA40 is like no Celica you’ve ever seen before so it’s not hard to explain their consistent wins. Some of their stage times are actually up there with the leading 2WD ARC cars!

The fight for the remaining two podium places was hot, and in the end it was the local crew of Neville Whittenbury and Dave Rudham who just edged out their competition to claim second. The battle would have been even tighter had Barry Lowe not rolled his thundering Commodore on the second stage of Saturday in the Mt Crawford Forrest stage.

The popular NSW crew of Fro Horobin and Greg McPherson fought hard for the final podium slot in their similar Datsun 180B. Continue reading →

As the alarm went off at about 6am on Sunday morning, I awoke to a really odd sound. A constant, almost comforting patter. What was it? Ah yes, rain. And lots of of it. In my early morning stupor I came to the conclusion that I should just go back to sleep, and it probably will stop by the time I need to get up. 7am and the alarm buzzed again, and for some damned reason it was still raining. At least I wouldn’t need to wash the car I concluded, and promptly fell back asleep. Wintery mornings do not welcome the early bird.

Rewind a couple of weeks. After receiving some feedback from the first Burger Meet held on a Friday evening at Fancy Burger in Blackwood, I decided to try something a little different for the second Burger Meet. The main suggestions were that the location was less than inspiring, and that people wanted to go for a bit of a drive as well. So with sunny late summer hills mornings in mind the decision was made to hold the second Burger Meet on a Sunday morning in Mylor, with the burgers served up from the picturesque Harvest Cafe.

Gourmet breakfast burgers? Check. Picture-perfect surroundings? Check. Twisty driving roads to arrive at the venue? Check. Constant rain and freezing cold temperatures? Check. Damn. With this in mind I didn’t really expect a huge turnout, and I couldn’t really blame people for not coming. It takes a strong passion for cars to get out of a nice warm bed on such an awful Sunday morning.

But then one by one, people started arriving in all sorts of interesting cars. Continue reading →

Have you ever found yourself out driving on a sunny afternoon, and purely by chance discover an incredible little section of road you never knew about? You drive it for the first time with a grin on your face, and maybe even double back for another go at it. And then you start to think…. ‘wouldn’t it be cool if we could close this little section of road off for a hillclimb competition?’

That’s precisely how this previously unknown little country track, 10km out of Victor Harbor on the Yankililla road, became the fastest hillclimb course in the state. Now in its fourth year, the two day Mt Alma Mile event has quickly gained a reputation as a showcase for the state’s high performance tuners, as well as an accessible challenge for grassroots amateurs looking to test themselves against both the hill and other competitor’s cars.

You would very rarely ever find yourself at Mt Alma on the other 363 days of the year because it’s a road that kind of links nowhere to nowhere, and the fact that it turns to dirt at its summit even further reduces the likelihood of using it.

This is a huge shame, and every year I attend Mt Alma the sheer beauty of the countryside slaps me in the face, as if almost in laughter that this stunning countryside is just over an hour from the city yet I only ever come here once a year. Motorsport aside, you could just come here for a lazy Sunday picnic and have a great day out.

This has to be one of the most scenic pit paddocks in South Australian motorsport. Continue reading →